Former Central State Eight Conference football players can be found on Division I rosters at nearly all positions, from quarterbacks to kickers.

But the CS8 has become known for sending linemen to the highest levels of college football.

“I think it speaks volumes to our conference,” SHG coach Ken Leonard said. “You have to be just a little lucky to have big kids.”

The recent wave of Division I-bound linemen began with SHG’s Marlandez Harris, who went to Indiana University in 2010. And though he never played for the Hoosiers, the 6-foot-3, 274-pound defensive lineman started a trend.

ISU would get two more CS8 players — Springfield High’s Ryan Gelber in 2012 and Jacksonville’s Dalton Keene in 2013. Fellow ‘13 CS8 alum James Torgerson (Springfield High) went to WIU.

The run wouldn’t end there as two Class of 2014 graduates, Jacksonville offensive tackle Blake Hance (Northern Illinois) and Rochester defensive end Matt Swaine (ISU), signed National Letters of Intent.

And 2015 might be the banner year for CS8 linemen banner.

Jacksonville’s Gabe Megginson was the first to commit, when he told Illinois his intention to join the program next fall as an offensive tackle. That was followed by SHG offensive tackle Quinn Oseland’s oral commitment in August to Minnesota.

Michael Zeigler, the other tackle on the SHG offensive line, already has an offer from Austin Peay. He hopes solid play this season adds to his offers.

For those counting, that’s 13 since the 2009 high school football season, or more than two a season, with six playing at Bowl Championship Series-eligible schools.

“There are some talented kids,” Jacksonville coach Mark Grounds said. “They’ve got to be self-starters because they’ve got to do the lonely work. They’ve got to demand excellence for themselves.”

Hallway to college

Grounds said the first hurdle is sometimes to convince a big kid there might be a spot for him on the team. But that’s just the beginning.

“I think we’re blessed but I think it shows coaches are doing a good job of recruiting the hallways,” Grounds said. “People have no idea how much goes on behind the scenes. But ultimately, the kids have put the effort in.”

To get scholarship looks at these schools, a player has to have the right dimensions in the first place — especially those on an offensive front five.

“I think o-linemen are the toughest (to produce) because o-linemen have to fit a certain bill, be a certain weight,” Rochester coach Derek Leonard said.

Page 2 of 2 - And size alone isn’t enough.

“You’re looking for that big kid, a big kid that can move,” Ken Leonard said.

In Rochester’s four-peat of 4A state titles, Derek Leonard has had more than his share of athletic defensive end types. The most recent was Swaine.

Even one good defensive player can have an impact on the rest of the 10 guys.

“You don’t have to blitz and always be so creative because you’re going to get pressure with one guy,” Derek Leonard said. “We can do a lot more things in the secondary and with the back seven when you have that guy to put pressure on the quarterback.”

Will 2014 be the end of the run, at least for a while? Or which underclassmen will use this season to ensure future CS8 seasons continue to be a linemen factory?

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CS8 football coaches’ poll

(Coaches could not vote for their own team; 1st-place votes in parentheses)